The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences honored six outstanding alumni at the 2026 CLAS Alumni Awards Ceremony on April 22, recognizing graduates whose careers reflect the reach and value of a UConn education.

The CLAS Alumni Awards recognize distinguished alumni and recent graduates who demonstrate the benefits of a liberal arts and sciences degree and uphold the College’s values. This year’s recipients include leaders in public service, pioneers in science and health, and emerging professionals already shaping the future of their fields.

“These awards recognize individual achievement, but they also reflect something broader: the enduring value of a liberal arts and sciences education and the many paths it makes possible,” says Ofer Harel, dean of CLAS. “We are proud of all our recipients, grateful for the example they set for our students, and inspired by their continued impact.”

With more than 130,000 alumni, CLAS is UConn’s largest and most academically diverse college, making the award a distinctive honor among an exceptional pool of candidates.

CLAS Distinguished Alumni Awards – Social Sciences and Humanities

Alan Bennett ’69 (CLAS) is an honors graduate of UConn, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in political science. He later earned his Juris Doctorate in 1972 from Columbia University School of Law, where he was recognized as a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar.

Bennett built a distinguished legal career, beginning as associate chief counsel at the Food and Drug Administration and later serving as counsel to the U.S. Senate Governmental Affairs Committee and as an assistant to Sen. Jacob Javits of New York. He also worked with Sen. Abraham Ribicoff of Connecticut at a major New York law firm before founding a 22-lawyer firm that later merged with the multinational firm Ropes & Gray.

In addition to his professional accomplishments, Bennett has remained engaged with UConn through teaching, service, and philanthropy. He currently serves on the CLAS Dean’s Advisory Board and previously served on the UConn Foundation Board of Directors. He has also supported academic initiatives, including the Alan R. Bennett Honors Professor of Political Science, the Bennett Fund for Innovative Education in Health and Society, and the Alan R. Bennett Honors Scholarship in Political Science.

Natalie Braswell ’00 (CLAS), ’02 MPA, ’07 JD is a lawyer who has built a distinguished career in public service. She currently serves as general counsel to Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont. She previously made history as Connecticut’s first Black comptroller, serving from December 2021 to January 2023.

During her tenure, Braswell and her administration advanced programs to support working families, including a COVID-19 relief fund that provided economic support to the families of workers who died and the Premium Pay, or “hero pay,” program, which offered one-time payments of up to $1,000 for eligible frontline workers.

A triple Husky, she earned a bachelor’s degree in political science, a Master of Public Administration from the School of Public Policy, and a Juris Doctor from the School of Law. She also held senior legal and policy roles in state government and worked in private practice before serving as comptroller.

CLAS Distinguished Alumni Awards – Life and Physical Sciences

David Salsburg ’66 Ph.D. is a trailblazer in the field of biostatistics and was among the first recipients of a statistics doctorate at UConn.

After earning his Ph.D. from UConn in 1966, he taught at the University of Pennsylvania before becoming Pfizer’s first statistician. During his 27-year career at Pfizer, Salsburg contributed to advances in biostatistics in pharmaceutical science, earning the Distinguished Statistician Lifetime Achievement Award from the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.

After retiring in 1994, he continued teaching and writing, including “The Lady Tasting Tea,” which became supplemental reading in many introductory statistics courses and has been translated into multiple languages.

Salsburg’s impact is also reflected in UConn’s Department of Statistics, where the Pfizer Distinguished Statistician Colloquium was established in his honor in 1978.

Richard Seewald ’81 Ph.D. is a pioneer in pediatric audiology and a Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, as well as a research associate at the National Centre for Audiology in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Western University in London, Ontario.

Since earning his Ph.D. from UConn in 1981, he has devoted his career to improving care for infants and young children with hearing loss. He is internationally recognized for developing the Desired Sensation Level, or DSL, method for pediatric hearing aid fitting, work that began at UConn and is now used worldwide as a standard of care.

He has received several honors for his work, including the International Award in Hearing from the American Academy of Audiology and the Award for Innovation from the governor general of Canada for his team’s pioneering work in pediatric audiology. In retirement, Seewald has served as chair of the International Advisory Board of the Hear the World Foundation.

CLAS Emerging Leader Award – Humanities and Social Sciences

Brianna Régine Walston ’17 (CLAS) is the founder and CEO of The BRVC Company, a growth and transformation partner for purpose-led businesses seeking to strengthen their systems, structures, and storytelling. She also hosts The Brand Unveiled podcast, where she equips founders with strategic insights and the confidence to lead, grow, and thrive.

Walston has remained actively engaged with UConn, mentoring students as one of the inaugural career coaches for the Werth Institute NetWerx Program and offering guidance through the Husky Mentor Network.

Her work has been recognized with numerous honors, including Young Entrepreneur of the Year from SBA Connecticut, the 2025 Business Award from the Greater Bridgeport NAACP Branch, the 2023 Rising Star Award from UConn’s Department of Communication — where she was the first alumna to receive the honor.

CLAS Emerging Leader Award – Life and Physical Sciences

Christopher Hughes ’20 (CLAS) is a project geologist with ANS, whose work supports the development of major infrastructure and renewable energy projects across the United States.

Since joining the firm in 2021, Hughes has helped expand both the geotechnical and geophysical capabilities of the organization and has supported renewable energy developments totaling more than eight gigawatts of energy generation and storage capacity through his work.

Chris remains closely connected to the University, serving on the Earth Sciences Alumni Advisory Board and teaching a course that introduces students to applied geotechnical geology. He also contributes to the profession through his service on the Association of Environmental and Engineering Geologists’ Students and Young Professionals Support Committee.